summary
Introduced
04/14/2015
04/14/2015
In Committee
04/17/2015
04/17/2015
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
01/03/2017
01/03/2017
Introduced Session
114th Congress
Bill Summary
Voluntary Verification Program Act of 2015 This bill amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rely on voluntary programs for certifying manufacturer compliance with energy conservation performance standards and Energy Star specifications for consumer products and industrial equipment. Consumer products are the following: central air conditioners and central air conditioning heat pumps, water heaters, furnaces, direct heating equipment, and pool heaters. Industrial equipment is the following: commercial package air conditioning and heating equipment, automatic commercial ice makers, packaged terminal air-conditioners and packaged terminal heat pumps, warm air furnaces and packaged boilers, and storage water heaters, instantaneous water heaters, and unfired hot water storage tanks. The consumer products exclude those that are designed solely for use in recreational vehicles and other mobile equipment. DOE and the EPA must initiate a negotiated rulemaking to establish criteria, meeting certain minimum requirements, for achieving recognition by DOE or the EPA as an approved voluntary verification program. Neither DOE nor the EPA may require manufacturers that participate in a voluntary verification program to provide information that can be obtained through the program. If a voluntary program subjects products to periodic verification testing and provides test results to DOE or the EPA on request, DOE and the EPA may not subject participating manufacturers that are in compliance with the program to additional testing to verify the accuracy of the performance rating of the product or equipment.
AI Summary
This bill, the Voluntary Verification Program Act of 2015, amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to allow the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rely on approved voluntary programs for verifying that manufacturers meet energy conservation standards and Energy Star specifications for various consumer and industrial products, such as air conditioners, furnaces, and water heaters. The DOE and EPA must establish criteria for these voluntary programs through a negotiated rulemaking process, ensuring they are nationally recognized, publicly list verified products, require performance rating adjustments or product removal if testing fails, qualify new participants through testing, allow for challenge testing, require participants to verify all covered products, and promptly notify the agencies of any rerating or delisting. Importantly, manufacturers participating in an approved voluntary program will not be required to provide information already obtainable through that program, and if the program includes periodic testing and provides results to the agencies, the DOE and EPA generally cannot subject those manufacturers to additional testing to verify performance ratings, though this does not limit the agencies' authority to enforce compliance with the law.
Committee Categories
Business and Industry, Transportation and Infrastructure
Sponsors (5)
Last Action
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Power. (on 04/17/2015)
Official Document
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